***Thank you BayBay08 for this request.***
Uggghh, I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't take any more of my dad's violent and aggressive behaviour. He was an alcoholic. And in case you wondering, I'm twenty-two and I work at a hairdressing salon (it's sooo boring), but if it puts food on the table, then I'll gladly do it. I live with my drunk dad, he's downstairs still drinking. My mum left when she caught my dad having an affair with her best friend.
Ouch. Nasty stuff.
I sat at the white dressing table in my bedroom, aiding my slightly hurt and cut face and arms with antiseptic.
I hissed in pain as I dabbed the antiseptic onto the wounds. They still bled a little, blood still oozing a tiny bit.
After I had cleaned up the last of the blood, I pressed some clean soft plasters over my injuries.
All better.
I pulled my soft grey hoodie from around my waist and pulled it over the top of my head and grabbed my black rucksack.
Yes. I'm running away. I can't cope with being assaulted and living with a drunk dad anymore.
I grabbed several pairs of clean clothes from my wardrobe, my hairbrush, toothpaste, toothbrush, my phone, charger, earphones, favourite book, deodorant and a pot of lip balm that smelt of vanilla and honey.
Mmmm...
Slowly closing my door, I crept down the stairs and peered around the living room door. There was my dad slumped in his armchair, a large Heineken beer bottle in his hand, completely wasted and passed out. His glasses were perched on the tip of his nose, so I put them on his lap.
The TV blared, so I turned it off and quietly shut the door behind me.
I made my way to the kitchen and opened the cupboards and fridge. I took a packet of ready salted crisps, a co-op ham and cheese sandwich, a half-eaten mars bar and an orange juice (I hated apple juice).
When I had enough food, I stuffed it all in my rather over a stuffed backpack. It was much heavier than I thought it would be, so I had to double over and carry it like that. I placed it at the foot of the stairs and sat down. I pulled on my black boots and double knotted the rather scuffed up laces.
I then pulled on my black coat and slung my rucksack over my shoulder. I opened the door and slipped out.
Damn!
It was snowing and I didn't have a key, so I couldn't go back and wait out the snow.
Wait, why would I want to go back? It's the place I'm running away from, not the place I'm going back to.
Ok, ok, ok.
Well, I guess I'd have to keep on walking, so I walked away from my house and down the street. Soon, I'd walked so far in the dark charcoal black night that I didn't know where I was. Uggghh....my legs were so sore, I needed a sit-down.
'No, just a few more blocks, then you can rest.' I told myself firmly.
So foolishly, I walked an extra three and a half blocks. To make it worse, there was now a strong wind, which blew my H/C into my E/C.
I was still walking 20 minutes later, by then I was shivering and had almost walked those three and a half blocks. The snow was coming down faster and heavier; the snow was going through my coat and jumper, piercing my skin.
I couldn't walk anymore, so I leaned against some big iron gates and sat down in the cold wet damp white snow. I took off my rucksack and opened it slowly. I know now wasn't the time, but my lips were getting chapped, so I slathered on a thick amount of lip balm over them. Then I pierced my orange juice with the straw and drank it slowly, finishing up the mars bar straight after.
I threw my litter in the nearest bin, zipped my rucksack up and put it back on my shoulders. I sat down once more against the gates and felt my eyelids getting heavy.
I stifled a yawn. *Yawn*
I felt so tired. Maybe just a small nap. I thought. I had only intended to close my eyes for about twenty minutes, but instead, I fell into a deep sleep.
******A little bit later*********
Wow, that was the best sleep I'd had in ages, well I guess I should continue my journey. But hang on, why was it warm outside? Maybe there's something wrong with me. Maybe the cold had numbed my senses.
I slowly opened my eyes, my hair in front of my face and saw someone sitting next to me. I screamed, who was this, where was I?
I sat up quickly, breathing fast.
The person next to me jolted awake and looked around.
"Hello, starshine...the earth says...hello." Said the man, he had a rather high voice for a male and he was looking at me weirdly too, which made me uncomfortable. I too started to stare at him for a few moments, he looked familiar, I'm sure I'd seen him somewhere before.
I took in every detail of his face: the pale skin, deep brown eyes, the blacktop hat perched on top of his short brown hair that stopped at his neck, his weird smile and his weirdly straight pearly white teeth (they freaked me out.)
I just couldn't place my finger on it. "Who, are you?" I asked stupidly, I probably already knew who he was.
The man looked confused. "I am Willy Wonka, the one and only." He stated in his... let's just say, quite feminine voice.
I was stunned. Willy Wonka, the only way here, sitting next to me in an old tatty mustard coloured armchair holding my hand as I sat in a warm bed recovering.
"Really? You're Willy Wonka?"
"Yep. In the flesh." He giggled.
I let this information absorb slowly into my system, then:
"Oh my god, oh my god, I've been wanting to meet you for ages, I love your chocolate. The red chilli and dark chocolate wasn't the best combination, but the 'Whipple Scrumptious Fudgemellow Delight' was amazing. I enjoyed it so much." I rambled excitedly, getting carried away with myself now.
I must have sounded like a right idiot going on and on like that.
"Shh." He said. "Thank you starshine, I'm pleased you like my chocolate and yes the fudgemellow delight was good wasn't it? It was a huge hit in Japan. Now, what's a girl like you doing out in this despicable weather?" He asked concernedly, his pleased smile disappearing.
So I explained all about my dad and why I'd run away. Willy listened intently, he sometimes shifted uncomfortably in his chair and shuffled his feet as though he felt awkward.
I certainly felt awkward, I mean I was talking to one of the world's best chocolate makers.
"- And that's why I ran away from home tonight." I finished.
He looked at me thoughtfully and then said something I'd never have expected to hear. "You know - actually before I continue, what's your name?"
"Y/N," I replied.
"Ok. So, Y/N, when I was about maybe nine or older, I too ran away from home. Not the same reason as you, see my father was a dentist and he never let me eat sweets. I had very ugly steel braces around my mouth and I was determined to achieve my dreams of a master chocolatier. One night, right in front of him, I opened the door and ran away. And well...look what has happened. I'm living the dream."
He smiled hugely.
I was speechless, Willy's story moved me.
What he said next made me... well...you'll see.
"I take you don't want to go back to live with your dad am I right?"
"Yes. I never want to go back there." I declared, a single tear trickling down my cheek.
"Oh don't cry." He thrust a white hankie at me.
I blew my nose loudly and wiped my eyes. Though, not in that order.
"Would you like to stay here?" He asked me sweetly.
I looked up at him with surprise. Then I smiled. "Yes yes yes!" I squealed happily, kicking off the soft white bedsheets and flinging my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.
He wasn't very good with human contact or social interaction, because he patted me awkwardly on the back, before releasing my arms from his neck.
"Thank you, you know for this and for saving me from the cold," I said, trying hard to hold in my happy tears.
"Your welcome." He got up and opened the door for me. This (I assumed) was a gesture for 'come on, I'll give you a tour around the factory.'
I slowly got up and followed Willy out the door.
******Many months later******
Many months had passed and now I lived with the Willy Wonka in his factory. I'm super happy here living with him. To make things even better, I'm now his assistant (which means apart from everything else, I get to taste the chocolate).
The job does have its downside though. My stomach wasn't used to stomach lots of sugar and chocolate, so for the first week, I threw up a lot (not that anybody needs to know that).
Thankfully, my stomach did get used to the sugary taste testing after a few weeks.
Currently, I and Willy are in the chocolate room test tasting something that looks like a river, (no not the chocolate one in case that's what you're thinking).
The river is a mixture of water, refined sugar, blue food colouring, blue raspberry flavouring and some other stuff that I can't remember.
It tastes really good too, but I think it could use more blue and loads more flavouring.
I think it's supposed to be called 'Blue Lemonade', or something like that.
I tell Willy too. "If you don't add more flavouring and colouring, it will just taste like a really weak flavoured water. You can get flavoured water in the co-op and pretty much in every shop." I protested, dripping baby blue food colouring into the mixture as he stirred it with a big stick.
He sighed and dipped a spoon into the water and had a taste.
He screwed up his face in disgust, which I guessed meant 'oh my god that's disgusting.'
"Your right, it needs more flavouring and colouring and more sugar."
"Yes to the first, yes to the second, but no to the third."
He let out a frustrated sigh. "Why?!"
"It's already sweet enough!" I shouted, jumping up and facing Willy, my face contorted.
"No, it's not! I'm the chocolatier and it's my factory and I say it's not sweet enough, so there!" He stomped his foot like a toddler that is told their not allowed to have dessert before their dinner.
It was quite comical to see Willy Wonka having a temper tantrum, so I couldn't help but laugh.
"It's not funny! And besides, you're only an assistant!" He raged.
Ugh. We did we always fight about petty shit like this?
I flopped down onto the edible grass and picked at a blade. I put it in my mouth and chewed it, thinking hard.
"I'm sorry." He apologized, sitting down the next time and patting me softly on the back. "I shouldn't always blow my top hat at the girl I...errr...l-l-l-l-"
"Love?... Wait, what?" I asked, looking around at him with surprise, nearly choking on the blade of grass in my mouth.
"Yeah."
I was speechless for a moment. I had no idea what to say. I thought we were only friends. But now I looked back on all the time we'd spent together, I started to see things from a different perspective.
"I like you too." I didn't have the guts to say 'love'...yet.
We didn't say anything to each other. We just sat side by side and watched the chocolate waterfall flow fast and freely into the chocolate river.
******Not my best short story (well that's my opinion), but I hope you enjoyed this. ********